The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Genre: Thriller/ Suspense/ Police Procedural
Published: 3 September 2019, Harper/ An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Swathi’s Rating: 4/5
Verdict: Dark, gruesome and plot-driven!
‘The Chestnut Man’ had been on my TBR pile for an awfully long while and I was so excited to receive this gorgeous red and black ARC which is as intriguing as the blurb! Soon to become a Danish Netflix original, this 500+ pages of spine-chilling thriller has everything required to be the next blockbuster!
— Copenhagen, August 19, 2019 — Earlier today Netflix announced its second Danish original series, The Chestnut Man, at Copenhagen TV Festival. The Chestnut Man is based on the debut novel by award winning writer Søren Sveistrup (The Killing) and the series will debut exclusively on Netflix worldwide. Production is slated to begin in Denmark in 2020 with the executive production team SAM Productions, who is also behind the coming Norwegian Netflix original series Ragnarok.
Plot:
The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.
If you find one, he’s already found you.
A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.
His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.
Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?
To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.
And no one is safe.
Swathi’s Thoughts:
A serial murderer targets young women with children and kills them brutally, then amputates and arranges their body in a gory manner that somehow mimes the Chestnut man dolls he leaves in his crime scenes.
Minister of Social Affairs Rosa Hartung’s 12 year daughter is missing and presumed dead by now. Her killer has been caught and is now behind bars, although her body was never found. Now after almost an year, when the missing girl’s fingerprints are found on the chestnut man doll left by the killer in the crime scene, Rosa soon becomes the vital part of the murder investigation.
Danish Detectives Thulin and Hess are under so much pressure from their superiors as it’s a high-profile case involving the minister, but this doesn’t stop the killer from commiting more murders! Will the police be able to catch the sadistic killer before it’s too late?
Brownie points goes to…
The Setting!
Set in Copenhagen’s autumn and fall, the atmosphere adds so much to the mystery of the plot, which is why I LOVE scandinavian noir so very much!!
Police Procedurals:
The investigation of the murders involving Thulin and Hess is honest and less of drama unlike your normal police procedural thrillers. The detectives are shown as human beings rather than superheroes who could crack cases in a jiffy! The stress from the above and the pressure to manage their private and personal lives are almost impossible for dedicated detectives and Soren shows just that.
The Pace:
If you expect a fast paced, drama filled with twists in every chapter, then this book might not be for you. The author takes his audience in his own thriller ride, allowing the characters and plot to reveal themselves rather than forcing the thrill out of it. The chapters are short – yes, but there is strong detailing of events that support the main storyline, giving a larger backdrop to the readers.
Excited about……!!!
Even when I was reading the book, it felt more like reading a script of a 10 part crime thriller series that Netflix would make! And when the published emailed me announcing the same, I was so thrilled obviously. The book is just perfect for the adaptation and surely gonna be the next big thing!
Would I recommend this book? Hell Yeah!! It’s a must-read for all thriller lovers!
Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.
Meet the Author:
Søren Sveistrup is an internationally acclaimed script writer, creator and film producer of several TV series. From 2007 to 2012 he was the creator and writer of THE KILLING, which has won several international awards, has been sold to more than a hundred countries all over the world, and was remade for AMC by Fox Television Studios in the US. He lives in Copenhagen.
Danish script writer, show creator, and film producer Søren Sveistrup has earned international acclaim for his procedural dramas, including The Killing, which sold in over 100 countries and was remade into a hit series for AMC in the US. Now, Harper is pleased to announce the American arrival of Sveistrup’s pulse-pounding crime novel debut, THE CHESTNUT MAN (Harper; On-sale September 3, 2019; 528 pages; $28.99)—the story of two embattled Copenhagen detectives spurred on by an eerie calling card to bring a brutal, cunning psychopath to justice.
2 Comments
Inge | The Belgian Reviewer
I loved this novel too and it could very well pop up among my favorites in my list at the end of the year ;-). So happy to hear you enjoyed it as well!
Dave Sivers
So agree with your assessment. This is easily my book of the year to date! A masterclass.